HCMC – Speaking at the Vietnam – South Korea Economic Forum on April 23 in Hanoi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung outlined three strategic directions to move bilateral economic ties into a phase of “co-research, co-development and co-commercialization.”
The priorities include developing a next-generation industrial ecosystem, restructuring supply chains toward greater flexibility and higher value, and strengthening knowledge linkages through the triple helix model of government, academia and business.
Echoing this view, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Vietnam’s future is closely tied to that of South Korea, pledging government support for businesses from both sides to jointly develop strategic industries such as semiconductors and renewable energy.
He added that, in the current context, the two countries should focus on three pillars of cooperation.
Beyond traditional sectors such as electronics and automobiles, both sides should nurture future growth industries, particularly artificial intelligence, semiconductors and digital technologies. They also need to strengthen cooperation in energy and supply chains, including strategic projects in renewable energy, nuclear power, oil and rare earths.
At the same time, the two countries should prepare for the future through science and technology cooperation, including implementing a Korea–Vietnam science and technology innovation master framework to unlock new opportunities in research collaboration.
The forum took place as South Korea cements its position as Vietnam’s largest foreign direct investor, with total registered capital exceeding US$100 billion. Against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring, Hung stressed that cooperation must shift from expansion in scale to greater depth and quality.
Businesses from both countries signed and exchanged 73 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) across multiple sectors at the forum.
Notably, Vietnamese technology firms such as CMC Corporation have partnered with South Korean counterparts to develop AI-based software applications, while also announcing a US$2-billion hyperscale data center project in HCMC.
